This invention relates to spectacles and eyeglasses. More specifically, eyeglasses that are supported on the wearer's nose by resting the sidepieces underneath the wearer's ears, producing improved comfort and no slippage down the wearer's nose.
Eyeglasses up till now have the tendency to slip down the nose, hurt where the temples grab behind the ears, or hurt where the temples act together as a vise to press against the wearer's head. The tendency for the eyeglasses to slip down the nose is increased when the wearer bows forward, which is a common position. The temple design does not hold eyeglasses in place when the wearer's skin becomes oily or wet, which is one reason why head straps are used for sports.
Heretofore the following have been used: lightweight lenses and frames; frames where the lenses' weight is centered directly over the nosepiece; nosepiece pads, attachments, or altered construction; earpiece pads, attachments, or altered construction; temple pads, attachments, or altered construction; altered hinge designs; and around the head straps.
Prior art, like that in U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,479 by William T. Bidgood, granted Apr. 17, 1990, entitled ADJUSTABLE COUNTERWEIGHTED TEMPLE PIECES FOR EYEGLASSES, provides an embodiment of a common form fit temple, shown in FIG. 2. In a form fit temple eyeglass support system, the pair of temples press together against a wearer's head. This pressure creates friction against the wearer's head. Friction is the means of support for eyeglasses using form fit temples. This friction support is greatly reduced when the wearer's skin becomes oily. With less friction, the eyeglasses start to slide down the slope of the wearer's nose. Form fit temple hook 40 does not hold eyeglasses to the wearer's ear, as might be presumed. When the eyeglasses slide forward, temple pressure pushes the hooks into the ears, which can hurt.
Prior art, like that in U.S. Pat. No. 3,666,355 by A. G. Griffith, granted May 30, 1972, entitled EYEGLASS TEMPLE, shown in FIG. 1, provides an embodiment of common cable temple, with cable earpiece 41. Like form fit temples, cable temples also depend on the friction to the wearer's head. Cable earpieces also try to hold eyeglasses on a wearer's face by gripping more of the base curves of the ears. The ends of these temples can press, quite painfully, on the undersides of the wearer's ears and ear lobes.
Prior art, like that in U.S. Pat. No. 5,162,823 by Ronald S. Goldstein, granted Nov. 10, 1992, entitled EYEGLASS TEMPLES HAVING ADJUSTABLE "D" SHAPED EAR PIECE ELEMENTS, is shown in FIG. 3 and detail FIG. 4. The "D" earpieces 42 and 43 pull the full weight of the eyeglasses to a wearer's head with the rear slopes of the wearer's ears. The flexibility of the earpieces allow the earpieces to squeeze against the wearer's sensitive ear lobe bases and uppermost ear edges.
Prior art, like that in U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,844 by George Medina, granted Feb. 9, 1988, entitled EYEGLASSES, shown in FIG. 5, attaches eyeglasses to earpieces by means of suspension lines. This system also pulls the full weight of the glasses to the head with the earpieces pressed against the full rear slopes of the wearer's ears. Functionally, if the suspension line attachment area on the earpieces at 44 and 45 are not at a perfect height for a wearer, earpieces can either slip forward off the ears or tilt back and press against the wearer's lower rear ear slopes and sensitive ear lobes.
Prior art, like that in U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,356 by Yasuo Fukuwa, granted Aug. 8, 1995, entitled SPECTACLE FRAME INCLUDING SELF-ALIGNING TEMPLE END PIECE, is an eyeglass system with pivotal earpieces. Because these earpieces contact the upper ear slopes, any contact to the lower ear slopes will cause great force against those lower slopes. Production models of this prior art have full contact over the ears.
With all the above mentioned eyeglass systems, the nosepieces provide an additional friction support against the wearer's nose. This support diminishes when the wearer's nose is oily, wet, lotioned, or coated with makeup.